So Every Day We're Going to List One New Shitty Thing He's Done

The question put to President Trump at a White House news conference on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel was pretty straightforward. An Israeli reporter wanted to know about the rise of anti-Semitic incidents in the United States and concerns that the new administration was encouraging xenophobia and racism.

For a normal American politician, the moment offered a perfect opportunity for a home run. Condemn the behavior and make a sincere pledge to do everything possible to stop it. There is no question that hate crimes and malicious speech have accelerated since the presidential campaign, with Jews among the prime targets. The Anti-Defamation League says anti-Semitic talk in the United States has reached levels unseen since the 1930s. And there have been bomb threats against Jewish centers across the country….

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The morning after North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the sea, apparently to test President Trump’s resolve in his first days in office, the new commander in chief wanted to make one thing very clear to the world: Mark Cuban, the billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner, was not smart enough to have his job.

“I know Mark Cuban well,” Mr. Trump said Sunday morning on Twitter, where he has 24.7 million followers and has found an even more prominent megaphone since he became president. “He backed me big-time but I wasn’t interested in taking all of his calls. He’s not smart enough to run for president!”

It was not clear what provoked the insult, although Mr. Cuban has recently been publicly critical of Mr. Trump. The president might have been reacting to a report on Sunday in The New York Post that White House aides view Mr. Cuban as a potential campaign rival in 2020, or to comments Mr. Cuban made to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Friday warning corporate executives to be careful in their dealings with Mr. Trump…

Last month, taxpayers forked over nearly $100,000 to protect Eric Trump while he was on a business trip to Uruguay. And the Defense Department is looking to rent space in Trump Tower — which goes for as much as $1.5 million a year per floor — so they can bring the nuclear launch codes along when the president comes to visit his wife in New York.

The mere idea of Donald Trump and the nuclear codes is way more disturbing than the money. But still, critics claim that Melania Trump’s decision not to move into the White House is costing the country more in security than the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Melania is staying in New York so her son, Barron, can continue at his school. Presumably, the bill will drop somewhat over the summer. Meanwhile, the city police and the Secret Service have wrapped an incredibly expensive security blanket around a chunk of Fifth Avenue…

What you need to know about a scandal only the Trump administration could have brought us.

Close your eyes and try to remember the world as it existed as recently as January 2015. At the time, Ivanka Trump — a glamorous, well-known former model and mother of young kids with some television experience and a family connection to a brand-licensing business — was a natural partner for Nordstrom, the luxury department store found in upscale malls, generally in the suburbs of big cities.

The Ivanka Trump clothing line was self-consciously forward-looking and progressive without being radical. It appealed to younger, educated professional women trying to make their way up the career ladder — exactly the kind of people Nordstrom hopes will be the next generation of loyal shoppers at its stores.

But a lot has happened over the past two years. One thing is declining sales for Trump’s line at Nordstrom. Consequently, the company began phasing out her stuff over the course of the winter and confirmed to Racked on February 2 that the relationship is over: “Based on the brand’s performance, we’ve decided not to buy it for this season.”

Another thing is that Ivanka Trump’s father was elected president. Nordstom’s decision prompted a flurry of activity from Donald Trump, including tweets from his personal account and the official @POTUS White House account, a pointed condemnation of Nordstrom from the podium of the White House briefing room, and an advertorial for Ivanka’s apparel from Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway during a Fox News interview — that probably broke the law. It’s a typical incident in the very atypical Trump administration, tying together a lack of discipline and low-grade corruption…

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at the judicial branch for considering challenges to his executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, asserting that politically motivated judges had held a “disgraceful” federal appeals court hearing Tuesday on the matter.

“I don’t ever want to call a court biased, so I won’t call it biased,” Mr. Trump told a gathering of sheriffs and police chiefs in Washington. “But courts seem to be so political, and it would be so great for our justice system if they would be able to read a statement and do what’s right.”

Mr. Trump, who opened his remarks reciting the passage of the United States code that gives the president the power to restrict immigration whenever he deems the influx of foreigners detrimental to the country, said he had watched “in amazement” Tuesday night as a three-judge federal appeals panel heard arguments on his executive order and the limits of presidential power in cases of national security…

WASHINGTON — The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos on Tuesday as education secretary, approving the embattled nominee only with the help of a historic tiebreaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence.

The 51-to-50 vote elevates Ms. DeVos — a wealthy donor from Michigan who has devoted much of her life to expanding educational choice through charter schools and vouchers, but has limited experience with the public school system — to be steward of the nation’s schools…

President Trump’s vow to overhaul the Food and Drug Administration could bring major changes in policy, including steps to accelerate the process of approving new prescription drugs, setting up a clash with critics who say his push for deregulation might put consumers at risk.

Mr. Trump has been vetting candidates to run the agency, which regulates the safety of everything from drugs and medical devices to food and cosmetics. Among them is Jim O’Neill, a former official at the Health and Human Services Department who is an associate of the Silicon Valley billionaire and Trump supporter Peter Thiel. Mr. O’Neill has argued that companies should not have to prove that their drugs work in clinical trials before selling them to consumers.

WASHINGTON — President Trump has been in office for barely two weeks, but Congress is already in diplomatic damage control.

Senators are huddling in meetings or on embarrassing phone calls with ambassadors of major allies, assuring them that, yes, America is still their friend.

They are cobbling together visits to other nations, something that members of Congress regularly do, but this time with the goal of assuring world leaders that powerful lawmakers do not walk in lock step with Mr. Trump.

Others are drafting legislation to blunt the force of Russia, with which the Trump administration has been uncharacteristically aligned…

‘This was the worst call by far’: Trump badgered, bragged and abruptly ended phone call with Australian leader

It should have been one of the most congenial calls for the new commander in chief — a conversation with the leader of Australia, one of America’s staunchest allies, at the end of a triumphant week.

Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refu­gee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.

At one point, Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladi­mir Putin — and that “this was the worst call by far.”…